Adjustable pattern sprinkler



March 20, 1962 w. P. KENNEDY ADJUSTABLE PATTERN SPRINKLER 2 Sheets-Sheet1 Filed March 2l, 1961 FIG.

March 20, 1962 w. P. KENNEDY 3,026,044

ADJUSTABLE PATTERN SPRINKLER Filed March 21, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2United States PatentOiice 3,026,044 Patented Mar. 20, 1962 3,026,044ADJUSTABLE PATTERN SPRINKLER William P. Kennedy, 304 Freyer Brive,Marietta, Ga. Filed Mar. 21, 1961, Ser. No. 97,322 7 Claims. (Cl.239-97) The present invention relates to water motor powered irrigationsprinkling devices that have rotary water distribution means and isparticularly concerned with such devices that embody cam means mountedinterchangeably upon the body of the device with said cam means enablingthe device to sprinkle any one of a multiplicity' of area spraypatterns.

The greatest problem encountered in the design of a water motor poweredsprinkler of this type is the production of a uniform area coverage ofsprinkled fluid. Various methods have been tried in the past using twoor more distribution nozzles with good results in regard to certainpatterns, particularly symmetrical forms such as squares and rectangles.Uniforrnity of coverage of non-symmetrical areas as done by presentlydesigned cam-controlled water motor powered sprinklers leaves much to bedesired. The variable speed of rotation pro- Vduced by a impulse poweredrotary sprinkler, the speed being slower on the long range water throwsand proportionally faster on the short range throws produces a uniformcoverage regardless of the symmetry of the pattern. This variable speedof rotation is essential to proper distribution of sprinkled iiuid, thespeed required on a short throw being much faster than that required ona long throw. Presently designed water motor powered cam patternsprinklers have very little variation of rotation speed and hence do notproduce a uniform pattern coverage over a wide range of shapes.

To achieve the uniformity of coverage produced by an impulse motivatedcam-controlled sprinkler with the great range of rotational certainty asafforded by a water motor motivated sprinkler is the principal object ofthe present invention.

This device embodies means to rotate a single jet stream with saidstreams length, volume, speed of rotation and spray characteristicsbeing variably controlled by a pattern cam. When the jet stream is long,the volume is great, the rotation is slow and the spray characteristicwould be similar to that produced by a garden hose nozzle set to itslongest throw under pressure. When the stream is short, the volume issmall, the rotation is fast and the spray characteristic is fan-shapedand diused. As a result of this control of a single jet, the presentwater motor powered pattern sprinkler herewith submitted will produceresults comparable with an impulse powered pattern sprinkler.

It is another object of the invention to provide a device of thecharacter described which is substantially smaller in size, made offewer parts and of considerably less cost than previous water motorpowered devices of this kind.

Numerous other objects, features, and advantages of the presentstructure will be apparent from the consideration of the followingspecification taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIG. l is a side elevation of the device.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a portion of FIG. l showingdiagrammatically the motivation result of one position of the lever inregard to the valve.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view of a portion of FIG. 2 showingthe motivation result of another position of the lever in regard to thevalve.

FIG. 4 is a plan View of the central portion of the device showing thedistribution head with its cover removed and in association with a cam.

FIG. 5 is a plan view in reduced scale of the base portion of the devicewith the distribution head removed so as to show means for stationingcams.

FIG. 6 is an elevation of the central portion of the device showing afront view of the distribution head and adjacent components.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a portion of FIG. 2, showing therelationship of the water wheel to the Valve port.

FIG. 8 is a sectional View of a portion of FIG. 2, showing the valveport in full open position.

FIG. 9 is a view of FIG. 8, showing the valve port in full closedposition.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 1 designates the base of thedevice upon which is mounted an elbow 2 embodying a hose couplingconnection 3 at one end and the other end being threaded to receive avertical conduit standard 4. The upper end of the elbow is widely angedat 5 and includes a slightly raised projection 6 above the flange. Asmall pin 7 protrudes from the top of the ange. A sheet metal patterncam 8, whose shape is in general conformance with the shape of the areato be sprinkled, is provided with holes to receive the square projection6 and pin 7 as shown more clearly in FIG. 5. The conduit standard 4includes a wide shoulder 9 above its threaded base 10 with a wideflexible washer 11 acting both to hold the cam in position and as awater seal when the standard 4 is screwed into the elbow 2. Thisoperation may be done by hand by grasping and turning the large gear 12which is integrally a part of the standard 4. Thus cams of variousshapes may be changed upon the mounting without the use of tools.

Turnably mounted within the standard 4 is a anged sleeve 13 with a waterseal washer at 14 and threadedly connected to and supporting at itsupper end a distribution head 15. Water entering the head passes throughthe passage 16 to a tubular valve 17 and enters the passage 18 throughthe Valve port 19. This port opens and closes by turning the sleeve 20and when almost closed directs the water emitting directly at the waterwheel 21 as shown in FIG. 2 and when fully opened directs most of thewater emitting away from the water wheel as shown in FIG. 3. The effectof this action isv further aided by the division strip 22 in the channel18 which splits the stream progressively away from the wheel as thevalve opens. This arrangement causes the wheel to turn faster the morethe valve is closed and slower the more the valve is opened.

A worm gear train within the head transmits the motion of the waterwheel to the gear 23 which meshes with the gear 12 on the standard andimparts a slow rotation of the head upon the standard when water islowing through the device, the relative speed of head rotation beingcontrolled by the amount of water passing through the port 19 andcontrary to usual practice the head rotation being faster as less waterpasses and slower when more water passes. Contact between gears 12 and23 can be broken by merely lifting gear 23 and its shaft.

The water passes from channel 1S into a channel 24 and exits the headthrough the tiltable nozzle 25 which can be elevated for general overallrange required of any pattern by means of the hand manipulatahle lever26. Mounted to the lower side of the nozzle housing is an axle 27 uponwhich is turnably mounted a cylindrical mounting member 28 whichsupports a lever 29 with a roller 30 on its opposite end. Also mountedto member 28 is an additional lever 31 with a fork socket on itsopposite end which engages a round receiving member on one end of alever 32 which turns an axle 33 which controls the turning of the valvesleeve 20. It can thus be seen that movement of the lever 29 will openand close the port 19. Aiiixed to axle 33 is a lever 34 embodying'aweight 35Vwhrich urges the valve 17 to closed position and keeps theroller 30 constantly upon the. Y

perimeter of the cam 8. The movement of the distribution head around itsaxis thus opens and closes the valve according to the rollers positionon any given cam and thereby produces a sprinkled pattern in conformancewith the shape of the cam in use.

As the distribution head turns and varies the length of the jet stream,the characteristic of the stream emitting from a given nozzle orice of asuitable size to give a properly diiused stream throw on the longerranges would become of a solid character with little or no streamdiffusion on the shorter throws. To progressively break this solidstream into proper diffusion on the shorter throws a tapered pin 36 isadjustably mounted on the member 28. This pin will move progressively inor out of the jet stream according to its position on the member 28 asthe lever 29 rounds the cam, being entirely out of the stream on thelonger throws and entering the stream and diffusing it more the shorterthe stream becomes. The base of the pin is alixed to the collar 37 whichis turnably mounted on the member 2S and may be locked in any radialposition by means of the set screw 38. This adjustment permits the pinto be properly placed into the stream regardless of the tilt of thenozzle 25 and also makes possible a reasonable variation of the shape ofany given pattern by means of controlled stream diiusion. This would bein addition to the basic principles of stream length control andvariable speed of rotation afforded by the device.

It is believed that the nature and advantages of my invention will beclear from the foregoing description. Having thus described myinvention, I claim:

1. A cam-controlled pattern sprinkler, including a supporting body withmeans to station a pattern cam upon said body, a reduction geared watermotor which includes a vaned water wheel within a housing turnablymounted upon said body, conduit means through said body and said watermotor housing to a distribution nozzle in conjunction With said housing,a valve to control the volume and direction of flow through said conduitmeans with said valve being in association with said housing andproviding means to variably aim said ow at the varies of said wheel soas to cause said wheel to turn progressively faster as said valve isprogressively closed with said volume thereby reduced and said flow isprogressively aimed so as to cause full impact of said flow upon saidwheel and to cause said wheel to turn progressively slower as said valveis progressively opened with said volume thereby increased and said flowis aimed progressively away from full impact with said wheel.

2. The device as claimed in claim 1, in which the action of said valveis controlled by lever means in association with said pattern cam.

3. The device as claimed in claim 2, in which said valve includes aneXit port with means to direct said flow toward said wheel as said valveis closed and away from said Wheel when said Valve is opened.

4. The device as claimed in claim 3, in which said conduit means`adjacent said wheel and the exit side of said valve port consist ot" twoconduit passages, the wheel being in one pasage and the other passagebypassing said wheel with the ow being progressively channeled throughsaid bypass passage when said valve Y port is progressively opened andprogressively channeled through said wheel channel when said valve portis progressively closed, with said two conduit passages becoming onepassage before connecting with said distribution nozzle.

5. The device as claimed in claim 2, in which said lever means includemeans to progressively insert and withdraw stream dilusion means intothe flow emitting from said distribution nozzle.

6. The device as claimed in claim 5, with means to permit variableadjustment of said diifusion means in regard to said flow emitting fromsaid nozzle.

7. The device as claimed in claim 1, in which said distribution nozzleis manually tiltable.

Riblet `Tune 24, 1952 Kennedy Feb. 7, 1957

